Stand Finishing

[kyuubichan218]

Long time, no see, everyone!

I am finally getting back into my tank beyond just maintaining it, as much as I can. One of the things that I would like to do is finish the stand, which is just 2x6s right now. The tank is up and running (and has been for 15 months) so I have to be able to put the "skin" on in situ. Because it sits in a corner, I only have to finish one long side and one short side. I know there are some carpentry gurus out there and I'd love some advice on the best (or cheapest, or easiest) way to finish this. Thanks!

 

[FinsUp]

Hey Erika!! Welcome back!!

If you're going for a more primitive/rough look, we used cedar fence planks to skin our stands. They're fairly cheap, you can slap some stain on them if you want to darken them up, or just sealer if you like the natural cedar color. All you'd need is a table saw and drill. Easy peasy.

One variation on this, if you're looking for something smoother/more modern, would be 1" x 2" (or larger) slats. Those are much smoother than the fencing. I think you could really have some fun with different colors of stain or paint on them, too, and get a really unique look.

 

[samindenver]

I've had great success using wood flooring it tung and groves together, you can get it in different thicknesses to meet your needs and can get anything from oak to cherry in a number of finishes. Lumber Liquidators always has something on sale and you can stain wood trim to match the rest of the tank.

 

[kyuubichan218]

I was seriously considering using click-lock flooring! Do you have any pictures of what the finished product looks like? Also, how would you do the doors?

 

[samindenver]

Here's a couple of quick iPhone pics.

[attachment=67562:name]

 

[samindenver]

Here's a couple of quick iPhone pics.

[attachment=67563:name] View attachment 20772

 

[samindenver]

What part of town are you in. If you're near Aurora, you are welcome to come by and see my cabinet and get some ideas from what I did right and what I did wrong. PM me for my address if you'd want to take a closer look.

 

[kyuubichan218]

I'm up in Westminster, but if I'm down there I'll hit you up. How did you do the doors on that? Do you have to get a solid piece and cover it, or can you make a frame out of the edging and attach the flooring to that?

 

[samindenver]

That's one of the things I did that I'd change. I skinned an existing tank so I removed the trim on the old doors, skinned it and then cut new trim. That left the doors, thick, bulky and heavy. When I fix it, I think I'll get 1/4 plywood cut to size, skin it and then cut new trim.